The Magic Nine Strategies to Successful Investing

1. Make the most of the power of compounding investment returns. This is one of the best ways to build wealth, but you must have the right asset mix. 

2. Do not get thrown by the cycle. Cycles can throw investors out of a well-planned investment strategy. These create opportunities. 

3. Invest in the long term. Given the difficulty in getting market moves right in the short-term, for most it is best to get a long-term plan that suits your level of wealth, age and tolerance of volatility and stick to it. 

4. Diversify. Do not put all your eggs in one basket. But also, do not over-diversify as this will just complicate for no benefit. 

5. Turn down the noise. After having worked out a strategy that is right for you, it is important to turn down the noise on the information flow and prognosticating babble now surrounding investment markets and stay focused. In the digital world we now live in this is getting harder. 

6. Buy low, sell high. The cheaper you buy an asset, the higher its prospective return will be and vice versa. 

7. Beware of the crowd. Do not get sucked into the euphoria or doom and gloom around the rises and falls. 

8. Focus on investments you understand and that offer sustainable cash flow. If it looks dodgy, hard to understand or must be based on odd valuation measures, lots of debt or an endless stream of new investors to stack up, it is best to avoid. 

9. Seek advice. Given the psychological traps we are all susceptible to and the fact that investing is not easy, a good approach is to seek advice.